Chapter Twenty-nine
Charlie watched as King entered the restaurant right on time. After he was seated, King said, “Check it, Charlie, we didn't have shit to do wit' that fool gettin' killed at the club last night.” He then went on to explain everything that had taken place the night before. After he was finished he relaxed back in his seat and sipped some of his water.
“So, you're telling me that this guy Flamboyant is accusing you and your squad of killing his man without any real proof?”
“Exactly. All we were doin' was celebratin' my birthday and chillin' at the club. They chose to come over and holla like they were checkin' somebody or some shit. And, we still didn't trip! After that fool left it was like whatever for real.”
“Okay, I'll look into this later on. I'm glad you informed me of this first, because if I would have heard it from my other sources I would have really been pissed.”
“I'm knowin'. I wanted you to hear it from me so you wouldn't be tryin' to check a nigga. I hate that shit,” he said with a grin on his face.
“I know. How's everything else coming along? Any other problems?”
“Nope, everythang is everythang. As a matter of fact, everything is just fuckin' lovely.” They were interrupted by King's cell phone ringing. He checked the caller ID and saw that it was Flex. “What it do, Flex?”
“I know you busy and shit. I just wanted you to know that I got at 'em fools earlier and they want to meet. They just got back at me and I'm supposed to meet 'em at Crossroads Mall in thirty.”
“Yeah? A'ight, look, get at Tippi and have her put somethin' together for y'all. Keep me in the loop, though. You straight wit' this?”
“Fuckin' right.”
“A'ight, then, my nigga, handle that shit.”
“Real talk,” Flex replied as he hung up the phone.
King ended the call and thought about how mad Charlie was going to be when the word got out that Prince got smashed. He sipped some more of his water and said, “Man, I'm kinda hungry. What's up wit' some of 'em baby back ribs you were talkin' 'bout?”
Charlie smiled and said, “I've already ordered some for us; they should be ready any minute. Tell me, do you think that Flamboyant will try to retaliate since he feels that your squad is responsible for his man's death?”
King shrugged and said, “Ain't no tellin'. I doubt it, though.”
“Why is that?”
“That fool is a pussy for real. He ain't really 'bout no gangsta life. He on some flossy shit. I peeped that last night.”
As the waiter came to their table and set their plates in front of them, Charlie said, “I hope you're right, because this shit has the makings of getting real ugly.”
“I doubt it,” King said as he started eating his baby back ribs.
“A'ight, this is how we'll handle this shit. We'll get to the mall first and peep how that nigga plays it. If he comes alone and seems to be straight up we'll go straight at this ass and take him. But if he's brought some help then you call his ass and change the location for the hookup.”
“Then, what, we let him make it?” asked Prince.
“Nah, we send him and whoever is with his ass into the lion's den. I'll have Wave, Ken, and Milo waitin' on they ass somewhere,” Flamboyant said as he drove toward the mall.
“This is how we gon' do this shit, fool. I'm on my way to the mall now. I should be there in about ten. Where did they say they was gon' be?” Tippi asked.
“They didn't. They told me to park in the back by Dillard's and they'd get at me,” answered Flex.
“A'ight. What kind of whip does that nigga Prince push?”
“A black Escalade sittin' on some twenty-fours.”
“Cool. By the time you get there I should have already peeped his ass. Once he approaches you I'll take care of everythang.”
“What if he's not by himself?”
“Don't trip. I'm crazy strapped right now so if it gets too hot for me then you know what to do.”
“Right.”
“A'ight then, fool, I'll see you in a bit,” Tippi said as she smiled and hung up the phone.
* * *
Flamboyant and Prince were sitting inside of Flamboyant's S600, waiting for Flex to arrive at the mall, when Tippi pulled into the parking lot in her H2. They didn't pay it any attention because they couldn't see anybody's face behind the dark-tinted windows of the truck. Flamboyant was sitting there thinking about Shayla.
Man, I tripped out on my babe last night. What the fuck was I thinkin' 'bout? I'll make it up to her later.
“Dog, here that nigga comes,” Prince said as he pointed toward Flex's Navigator as Flex parked in the back of the parking lot. “It looks like the fool is by himself.”
“Good. A'ight, I'm gon' pull over in front of his shit. You jump out and serve his ass. Two to the head, my nigga, and we out.”
“You gon' put this shit down out your own shit, dog? That could be dangerous.”
“Nah, we good. Come on, let's do this shit,” Flamboyant said confidently as he put the car in gear.
Tippi was too busy concentrating on any and every truck in the mall's parking lot that she didn't pay any attention to the off-white S600 as it pulled in front of Flex's SUV. By the time she realized that it was Prince, it was too late. She watched in horror as Prince got out of the Mercedes and unloaded his gun inside of Flex's SUV.
Stunned momentarily, she watched as Flex was murdered. She snapped herself out of it, grabbed her guns, and sped toward the fleeing Mercedes. There wasn't any use checking on Flex; she knew he was already dead. Her mission was to make sure that she got them niggas in that Benz.
As the Mercedes pulled out of the mall she was right behind it. She didn't want to give herself away so she eased back slightly and let a couple of cars come between them. “I'm gon' get you niggas the right way,” she said aloud as she grabbed her phone and called King. When King answered the phone she told him, “They got Flex.”
“What?”
“You heard me. They took Flex in the parkin' lot of the mall.”
“What the fuck happened?”
“Flex had me lookin' for a black Escalade, but 'em niggas slid up on his ass in a off-white S600. By the time I realized what was what a nigga jumped out the Benz and started dumpin' on Flex. I didn't have enough time to get at 'em so I'm followin' they asses right now. Best believe they ain't gettin' away from me,” she said angrily.
“Where are you?”
“They just got onto the highway, I-35 South. I'm 'bout three cars behind 'em.”
“I'm too far out to catch up to you. Get at Cuddy and Boleg and see if they can hook up wit' you before you make a move on 'em niggas, Tippi.”
“Fuck that! I got this shit. I'll holla at ya later on,” she said as she ended the call.
King stared at his phone for a few seconds before his thoughts were interrupted by Charlie. “Is everything all right?”
“Huh? I mean, nah, Charlie, it's all bad right now. 'Em soft-ass niggas done did my man, Flex.”
“What? Shit! I don't want you doing anything crazy behind this, King. Let me take care of this shit,” Charlie said sternly.
“Let you take care of this? Come on, Charlie, you know what time it is now. Those niggas are for real, they ain't playin'! I underestimated that soft-ass nigga, Flamboyant. Now we got to retaliate the hardest! I'm outta here, Charlie,” he said as he jumped out of his seat and left the restaurant.
Charlie called Toni and said, “Your guy has just taken out one of my guy's men.”
“You sure? I got word that your guy took one of my guy's people last night at a club.”
“That's questionable. You have to get a hold of your guy before he gets himself killed. King's on the warpath.”
“This shit has gotten out of hand.”
“That's an understatement, Toni. Get at your guy and I'll do the same. We have to somehow get control of this shit.”
“I'll talk to you later,” Toni said and hung up.
* * *
Tippi followed the Mercedes for another ten minutes before the driver of the car pulled into the driveway of a modest-looking home on the south side, on Shields Street. Tippi parked her truck down the street from the house and quickly climbed out of her vehicle and started walking back toward the house.
As she was approaching the house, the passenger's side of the Benz door opened up and she saw Prince get out of the car. She held her 10 mm cannon behind her back as she strolled slowly toward the house. Just as she made it in front of the house the Mercedes was pulling out of the driveway. She saw the vanity license plate that read FLAM 1.
Damn, I should have gotten that nigga,
Tippi said to herself as she ran up on the porch of Prince's home. She said, “You thought you got away wit' that shit, nigga? Wrong!”
Prince turned around in horror and pissed on himself as Tippi shot him twice in the head. Before his body hit the ground she was already running back toward her truck. She was a long way from the north side of town, but she knew she had to hurry up and get as far away from that street as she could.
When she made it to the highway she grabbed her cell and called King. “I'm on the highway headed out toward Norman.”
“Norman? Why the hell you goin' out that way?”
“I didn't think I'd be able to make it back to the north.”
“You got your man?”
“Yeah, but I may have been seen. Come and scoop me from that Leo's Barbeque spot in Norman on Lindsey Street.”
“I'm on my way.”
“Hurry yo' ass up!”
Chapter Thirty
Flamboyant walked into his home and received two phone calls. The first call was from Toni. “Are you outta your fuckin' mind? Didn't I tell you that there was to be no fuckin' war on these streets? Huh? Didn't I?”
He sighed and said, “I know, but that was before they took my man Gunna. I couldn't let that shit ride, Toni. I just couldn't.”
“From what I've been told, you don't even know for sure that they did that to your man. You're only assuming. Now your foolish assumption may cost you everything you got! Meet me at Ted's Mexican Restaurant on May off of Sixty-third Street in an hour and don't be late! It's time for this shit to stop!” Toni screamed and hung up on him.
Before he was able to sit down he received the second phone call with even more bad news. “Dog, they smoked Prince!” yelled Wave.
“What? Come on wit' that shit! I just dropped Prince off at his pad not even fifteen minutes ago.”
“I'm tellin' ya, I'm over here now. The Ones are every-fuckin'-where. They said somebody ran up on him and dumped him on his porch. This shit has gotten outta hand, my nigga. We need to move on 'em niggas now!”
“We already did!” Not wanting to say too much over the phone, he told Wave, “Look, meet me on Southeast Fifteenth. Tell Milo and Ken to get there, too. I got a meeting to go to first, but I'll be through there in a couple of hours. Stand down 'til we can put somethin' right together.”
“What you want me to do with Prince's wifey? She's real fucked up right about now, my nigga.”
“Hold her down as best you can for now, dog. Tell her we'll be back by there after the Ones bounce.” He hung up the phone and screamed, “Noooooo! No! No! No! Nooooo! I can't believe this shit! I swear to God, you a dead nigga! King, you are fuckin' dead!”
Shayla was sitting on the bed, listening to her man scream bloody murder on her ex. “This is so fucked up,” she said softly.
* * *
Tippi was sitting inside of Leo's Barbeque Joint eating a barbeque chicken sandwich when King arrived. After he was seated he asked, “What the fuck happened?”
She quickly told him how everything went down and finished with, “We might as well take it to 'em niggas all the way now. They've shown they 'bout it. Ain't no need in playin' anymore.”
“Playin'? You think we been playin' wit' 'em niggas? This shit ain't no game. The only reason I've taken those clowns lightly was 'cause of Charlie. You know that, Tippi.”
“Yeah, I know that, and that's what I'm talkin' 'bout. Charlie may be the plug wit' the work, baby, but none of that shit will matter if none of us are here to move that shit. How the fuck are we gon' move when we got to worry 'bout 'em niggas poppin' up at any given time? We got to rid ourselves of the problem, King, once and for all. Come on, baby, let me get at some wolves I know and finish this shit. You know I can handle this shit.”
Before he could answer, his phone rang. “Yeah?”
“Ted's Mexican Restaurant, one hour. This shit stops today,” said Charlie.
“I'm out the way right now, Charlie.”
“I don't give a fuck where you're at. Have your ass at Ted's in one hour! And make sure when you get there you remain calm, nigga. This is business.”
“What you meaâ”
Charlie hung up on him before he could finish asking his question.
Tippi noticed the strange look on his face. “What Charlie talkin' 'bout now?”
“I just left that mothafucka. Now I got to go to some Mexican spot to have another meetin'.”
“About what?”
“Ain't no tellin' wit' Charlie. Probably somethin' to do wit' your handy work. Fuck it. Come on, let's bounce.” They stepped out of the restaurant, walking toward King's Lexus, when he stopped and asked, “What you gon' do 'bout yo' truck?”
“Keko and Spook are comin' out here to get it later on.”
“They know what's up with Flex?”
“Yeah, and so do the others. I called 'em when I was on my way out here.”
“Fuck! How did this shit get so outta hand?”
“This is the life we live, baby, and the game we play. Don't trip. As long as I have a breath in my body your queen will always protect her King.”
“Yeah, that's all good, but what 'bout everybody else, Tippi? We can't keep losing members of the squad.”
“There's always gon' be casualties in war, baby. That's just the way it is. Come on, let's roll so you can see what the fuck Charlie wants.”
* * *
Flamboyant pulled his Denali into the rather small parking lot of the quaint little Mexican restaurant. He didn't want to take the chance of driving his Mercedes, especially after what happened to Prince.
It is just too hot right now,
he thought as he got out of his SUV and entered the restaurant. Once he was inside, he took a look around until he saw Toni and another person sitting in the rear of the small restaurant. He took a deep breath and strolled over to their table. “What's up, Toni?” he asked as he sat down and joined them.
“Business,” Toni replied crisply. “This is my associate, Charlie. Charlie, this is Flamboyant.”
They shook hands and Charlie said, “I've heard a lot of good things about you. I hope after this meeting has concluded everything will be put into a better perspective.”
Curious, he asked, “What do you mean?”
“You'll see,” said Toni. “Do you want something to eat while we wait?”
“Nah, I'm good. What are we waiting for anyway?”
“We're waiting for a business associate of mine to arrive. He should be here any minute,” replied Charlie.
As if on cue, King came strolling confidently into the restaurant. He saw Charlie sitting in the back of the restaurant with two people and headed in their direction. When he made it to their table he said, “What it do, Charlie?”
When he heard King's voice, Flamboyant stood slightly and looked into King's brown eyes and said, “Y'all on some bullshit for real, Toni, if y'all think I'm 'bout to have a sit-down wit' this nigga!”
King smiled and said, “I hate to say this, but I feel exactly the same as this clown. What's up with this shit, Charlie?”
“Sit your ass down, Flamboyant,” Toni whispered in a no-nonsense tone of voice.
“Join him, King,” Charlie said in a tone similar to Toni's.
They both glared at one another as they sat down like they were told to.
“Very good. Now we all know why we're here. This shit between you two has to stop. Nothing productive will come from you two beefing with each other. Flamboyant, King here does some very good business with me. I've heard all about the good business that you conduct with Toni, as well. As long as you two continue with this petty shit we will all lose money. I, for one, don't care to lose money; so, tell me, what has to be done in order for this madness to come to an abrupt halt?” asked Charlie.
“This nigga has to drop dead! He took two of my men, and for that this shit won't stop until he dies too.” Flamboyant stared directly at King and said, “It's as simple as that, Charlie.”
Before Charlie could respond, Toni said, “No, it's not as simple as that. Every action has a reaction. Your man got killed at the club the other night, right?”
“Right.”
“And you hold King here responsible for that, right?”
“Exactly.”
“You then retaliated this afternoon by taking out King's man, correct?”
Flamboyant smiled smugly toward King and said, “Yep.”
“And if I'm not mistaken you then retaliated and took Flamboyant's man out a little bit afterward, is that correct, King?”
“You damn skippy.”
“All of this is behind what took place a few months back out in Del City. You two are two money-getting men, and neither of you are smart enough to realize that this shit has been nothing but a bunch of bullshit from the beginning. Come on, gentlemen, let's look at the bigger picture. If this shit doesn't stop today neither of you will be making any more money. Either you'll be dead or in jail, because if we don't come to some sort of peaceful resolution in the next few minutes I'm personally pulling off my protection of you, Flamboyant. And Charlie here is going to do the same for you, King. Then neither of you will be able to do anything but continue to try to murder one another. Now, here are your options: call a truce and end this shit, or say fuck it and let the chips fall where they may. What is it going to be, gentlemen? Charlie and myself have other matters to attend to. We don't have all fucking day for this madness.”
“To be honest with you, Toni, it don't even matter to me. Either way I'm gon' do what I have to do. This nigga took my man Flex today and I didn't even have shit to do wit' his man gettin' took at that damn club. So, I have no problems goin' to war wit' this clown and the entire south. But it's like you said, this shit is business and I do consider myself a hell of a businessman. I ain't tryin' to lose the plug I have with Charlie over some punk shit. I'd rather continue to get my money right, so it's whatever wit' me,” replied King.
“What about you, Flamboyant?” asked Charlie.
“If I decide to truce wit' this fool, what guarantee do I have that he won't try to get back at me on some sneaky shit later on in the game?”
“Keep yo' ass on the south side outta my way and I'll do the same, nigga. And tell your men that if they bump into any of my squad members out in Midwest City or Del City, stand down. I'll make sure my side does the same. I'll honor this truce 'cause Toni's right; there's a bigger picture that we've been ignoring over this beef. Lives have been taken. It'll only get worse if we keep this shit up. So, I'm wit' it.”
“If you would have been with this shit the other night my nigga Prince would still be alive.”
“And so would my nigga Flex.”
“Whatever. I'm tellin' all of y'all if I even think this nigga is on some sneak shit the truce ends at that very same moment. No more meetin', just straight war.”
King smiled at Flamboyant and said, “Whatever you say, tough guy.”
“Fuck you!”
“Kill that shit, you two! So, it's agreed, the beef ends today. Inform your people and let them know that this shit is over and it's back to business,” said Toni.
“If there's any more problems make sure you contact us before you go off crazy and shit. Am I understood, King?” asked Charlie.
King shrugged. “I'm good, Charlie. You won't have anything to worry 'bout as long as this bad guy does what he's supposed to do. I'm gon' do me. I ain't trippin' for real.”
“What about you, Flamboyant, you good?”
“Yeah, it is what it is, for now. Don't cross me, nigga, 'cause if you do, I swear it's on.”
King laughed and said, “A'ight, dog, I got you.” He then reached out to shake hands with Flamboyant and said, “Tell Shayla I said hello.”
The grin King had on his face when he made that comment made Flamboyant feel as if there was some kind of subliminal message, and it pissed him off. “Keep. My. Wifey's. Name. Out. Of. Your. Mouth. Nigga. I mean that shit, King! She told me 'bout y'all's li'l past, so don't think you can shoot a lug at a nigga. That was then, this is now. It's a new day.”
King raised his hands in mock surrender and said, “I ain't trippin', dog. All I said was to tell her what's up. It's all good, baby. I know that's your girl.”
“Okay, kids, y'all can go back out and play now,” Charlie said sarcastically.
King stood and said, “It was a pleasure meeting you, Toni.”
“Likewise, King.”
“I'll holla, Charlie,” he said as he left the table without saying another word to Flamboyant.
After he watched King leave the restaurant, Flamboyant told Toni and Charlie, “I want to continue to get this money like we been doin', Toni, but I swear if that nigga goes anywhere near my wifey, I'm gon' kill him and his entire crew.”
“What's the deal with him and your girl?” asked Charlie.
“They used to mess around back in the day, I guess. I really didn't get that deep into it wit' her. All I'm sayin' is that nigga bet' not go anywhere near her.”
“Don't worry, Flamboyant. The truce has been made here today and I don't think King will break it. As a matter of fact, I'm sure of it, so hold your end of this and everything will be fine,” said Charlie.
“I agree,” added Toni.
“I hope y'all right, 'cause if not, that nigga is a dead man,” Flamboyant said seriously.
“Where has all of this anger and violent behavior come from, Flamboyant? That's not your normal style,” asked Toni.
“That nigga is responsible for the deaths of two members of my team, Toni. I don't give a damn what y'all think. I know that slick-ass nigga found a way to do Gunna. Prince was my man since we was in junior high, and now I have to bury him 'cause of that nigga. To top everything off, that nigga used to fuck wit' the woman I'm in love wit'. That alone can make me become the most violent man you've ever seen. Let's just hope that nigga keeps his word, 'cause if he doesn'tâ”
“We know, we know, he's a dead man,” said Toni not wanting to go into it any further.